Women In Baripada Pull The Weight Of Goddess Subhadra's Chariot

Propelled by a sea of devotees, the journey of Lord Jagannath’s giant chariot, which is decked up immaculately each year, is a visual spectacle and a postcard image of the Rath Yatra in Odisha. Spanning for over a week, the Yatra concluded on July 19 with the chariots of the three sibling deities returning from the Gundicha Temple to their final abode in the 12th-century Jagannath Temple. While the procession's massive scale commands attention from all over the country, there's a unique facet to it that makes for a bigger celebration. In the city of Baripada, located in the Mayurbhanj district, Goddess Subhadra's chariot is pulled exclusively by an all-woman procession.